Are Fox News changes connected to GOP purge of ‘cranks, haters and bigots’?

When former Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., made the surprise announcement Friday that he will not run in the special election to replace Sen. John Kerry, who was confirmed as secretary of state, he may have had his eye on a different prize.

According to Politico’s Mike Allen, Brown has been in talks with Fox News regarding a possible role as a contributor to the network.

The Hill confirmed the claim, reporting that a network spokesman said the former Massachusetts senator is in negotiations with Fox News.

Brown, who lost his re-election bid to freshman Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., would join former Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, as a new Fox News contributor, if hired.

These changes are in addition to former Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin opting out of renewing her contract with the network, and Tuesday’s reports that political commentator and pollster Dick Morris is out.

All these changes have fueled the idea that a “purge” is underway.

A Politico article by Jim Vandehei and Mike Allen suggested that “Republicans and Fox News are moving to purge the controversial political creatures they created.”

Saying “both were damaged badly in 2012 by loud, partisan voices,” the “Behind the Curtain” article said Fox News chief Roger Ailes “aggressively, and shrewdly, toned things down post-election,” and quoted an unnamed source as saying there’s an effort by party leaders to “marginalize the cranks, haters and bigots — there’s a lot of underbrush that has to be cleaned out.”

Karl Rove, who was re-signed by Fox News to a multi-year contract, found himself at the center of a firestorm this week that coincides with this notion.

The controversy came as a result of a New York Times report that Rove has joined with Steven J. Law, president of American Crossroads, to create the Conservative Victory Project to “recruit seasoned candidates and protect Senate incumbents from challenges by far-right conservatives and Tea Party enthusiast.”

While it may not be entirely clear what Ailes is up to, you can be sure that all the internal angst within the conservative movement is welcome news to Democrats.